I've been a book selector (film studies) and a video selector. There's
little comparison between the two. In the world of research libraries we
buy books completely sight unseen, no reviews for the most part. We rely
upon the reputation of the publisher, the reputation of the author, the
content, and so forth. We use objective criteria, not evaluative criteria
on a title-by-title basis. When I was a book selector, I used two approval
plans, one for university presses and another for all other imprints. It
worked because we could create a focused profile for what we wanted and
didn't want. We bought comprehensively from many publishers. We also had
a limit on what we would spend. Many of the educational video titles
would be well above that limit.

Video selection is completely different. It is evaluative, done primarily
from reviews and previewing, on a title-by-title basis. Those of us who
have attended the National Media Market know that it is practically
impossible to predict ahead of time, before viewing titles, which ones
will be appropriate for our collections. Yes, there are some topics that
I know that I want, but when four new titles came out this year on women
in Afghanistan, how would I be able to tell a third-party ahead of time
which one I would want?

Instead of trying to create a video approval plan, you might want to start
with standing orders. A number of academic libraries are trying this
approach. We have a standing order for three PBS series: Nova, American
Experience, and Frontline, but even that has been difficult to arrange.
We do it through our representative, not directly with PBS. This is just
not something they are familar with doing for library customers. -- Kris